| The Commercial Pilots License or CPL for short, is your ticket to your aviation
career. The CPL allows you to Captain an airplane for hire and you can start to
reap the benefits of all of your hard work and training. In this course you will learn about advanced aircraft systems and dive deeper into the theory of flight. You will also learn manuvers that will enable you to master the aircraft and enhance your flying skills. Most people associate a Comercial Pilots License with being an Airline Captain. This is not the case. An Airline captain requires further training and experiance which comes later, but in order to reach that, you FIRST need to get your CPL.  So what jobs can you get with just a CPL? There are many options to look at. You can fly skydivers to their jump altitude, you can tow banners, dust crops, survey power lines, deliver newly bought aricraft to their owners, report traffic from the sky and more! I still report traffic to our Baltimore studio every morning. The aircraft that you will be learning on is a Piper Arrow IV. This 200 Horse Power, 4 seat aircraft has retractable landing gear and a variable pitch propeller. The aircraft cruises at roughly 176 M.P.H. and has a range of 900 Nautical Miles. Thats enough to get from Baltimore, MD all the way to Miami, FL in a little over 5 hours* without stopping for fuel! The course requires a minimum of 10 instructed hours on a complex aircraft however the average is between 15 and 20 hours. Below you will find a breakdown of the required hours and other essentials required for the course. *in a zero wind situation |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Here are the prerequisites for the course: - You must be the age of 18 or older. - You need a Third Class medical certificate, however if you want to exercise the privileges to work with your CPL, you will need a Second Class Medical Certificate. Click HERE to find the Aviation physician nearest you. - You will be required to pass a written aviation knowledge exam, then a one-on-one exam with an Aviation Examiner.  Flight Hours: Before you can be eligable for the CPL you need to have acrewed at least a total of 250 hours to include: - 10 hours of instruction in a Complex Airplane (retractable landing gear, variable pitch propeller and flaps) See side bar. -100 hours in powered aircraft, of which 50 must be in airplanes - 100 hours of Pilot In Command time of which, at least 50 in airplanes - 50 hours of Cross Country flying (point A to B with a distance of at least 50Nautical Miles between the two points) of which 10 must be in airplanes - At least 10 hours of instrument instruction, of which at least 5 must have been in a single engine airplane. -One cross country flight in Day VFR conditions and one cross country flight in Night VFR conditions, both to be at least 2 hours in duration and both to be at least 100 Nautical Miles straight line distance from point A to point B. Both flights must be made with an Instructor. - 10 hours of solo flight in a single engine airplane to include: 1) one cross country flight of not less that 300 Nautical Miles total distance with landings at a minimum of 3 points, one of which is a 250 nautical mile distance from the original point of departure. 2) 5 hours of night flying in VFR conditions to include 10 take offs and 10 landings involving flight in a traffic pattern at an airport with an operating control tower. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
So how much does it cost? The cost varies from student to student as it depends on how many lessons is required for the student to become prepared for the exam. The estimate below is based on the minimum 10 hours.*
*Pricing is based on current W.I.F.A. rental fees as of the creation of this web page, prices are subject to change. (Last Update was 03/01/10) **Includes items like: Knowledge Test Prep and study material, Maps, Navigational Plotter, Logbook, Flight Computer, FAA Medical Exam etc. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
